Technical Abstract: Agricultural facilities are the source of particles and gases that can exhibit an influence on air quality. Particle mass concentration influences from agricultural sources can include both primary emissions and secondary particle formation through the emission of gaseous precursors. Reports showing amines as particle forming precursors has lead to a need for new measurements of amines from these types of operations.
The ambient ion monitor (AIM) is composed of a parallel plate denuder, aerosol steam generator, and two ion chromatographs equipped with conductivity detectors to provide semi-continuous air quality monitoring capability. We previously reported the adaptation of this method to detect amines and other organic ions important in the field of agricultural emissions.
Here we will discuss recent field deployments of the AIM instrument to detect alkyl amines at agricultural facilities. We show that the AIM instrument can detect a number of amines at concentrations relevant to agricultural emissions. Trimethylamine is the amine detected in highest concentration and it is present in both the gas and particle phase. Other amines detected include methylamine, dimethylamine, and butylamine, though not all are observed in the particle phase.